Pokeshipping Week 2k15
by swimming-toon-lover
Summary: It's been 10 years, and I have yet to do any shipping weeks. That changes this year! Each day will be a different chapter.
1. If Misty Never Left

Hey There! I've never actually done PS Week (not sure why), and I decided, I'm back in this, why not, and this first one sort of…got away from me :O . Anyway, enojy!

Day 1: If Misty never left

Hoenn

"Ash, why do you always insist on doing things like that!" Misty smacked him as soon as he cleared the cliff.

"Not-" Ash had been about to protest, but he didn't get the chance as she wrapped her arms firmly around both him and Pikachu in a tight hug.

"Uhhh…."

"Prepare for trouble. Uh, what's the point?"

"Thought I'd introduce myself. I'm May."

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet town."

"And I'm Misty."

* * *

"So how's Pikachu?"

"Poor Ash, he's been taking care of his Pikachu all night long."

"He does that."

May jumped a foot in the air, and Misty smiled at her.

"Ah, don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry." Misty said, moving past May a bit to be able to look into the room, where Ash was slumped over at Pikachu's side. "You were going to yell at him about the bike, right?"

May blushed. "Well, I mean…"

"It's okay, he did the same thing to me way back. I did yell at him for it. Several times actually." she laughed to herself. "But I got something much better than a bike because of it. "

The girls both smiled as Pikachu woke up, and nuzzled Ash awake too.

"Glad to see we're all doing better." Misty slid past May and into the room. May was impressed by how much brighter Ash's smile got when she did.

"Well would you look at that."

* * *

"Now you two will have to register for the Hoenn league at the nearest Pokémon center you can find okay?"

"And the closest town where I think you'll be able to find one is Old Dale Town."

"Okay thanks."

"Oh, walking all that way alone makes me nervous. And my bike's destroyed, thanks to your Pikachu mister."

Ash's face burst into shock as Misty bit her lip to try and contain her laughter. He turned to her, as though terrified this newest incident might make her bring up her own bike for what would at this point be about the ten millionth time.

"Don't worry." she giggled. "I'm going to officially pass 'Ash Ketchum you bike ruiner' duties on to this one. She seems more than capable."

"Does that mean we're all going to go to Old Dale Town together? I happen to know the way there." May suggested.

"That would be great, considering Ash can get lost going in a straight line." Misty smiled brightly at the girl, who beamed back.

"Uhhh…" Ash looked nervously between the two of them.

"It's settled then!" May cheered.

"That was really fun." Misty said. "But I don't think that I want to do them all the time. I'm all about offense, showing off is more my sister's thing."

The group had just exited the contest hall, and Misty was staring at the ribbon in her hand.

"But you won!" Max protested. Misty shrugged.

"Yeah, but I don't think I did it right. I just knocked the others out."

"That's true. Even with that you still lost tons of points." Brock pointed out.

"I thought it was great! I can't wait to try another one!" May grinned. "I never really liked battles, but those were really fun, I had to be really creative."

"You should definitely keep doing them." Misty agreed. "You looked really in your element up there. I'm sorry I knocked Beautifly around so much." Ash laughed, and Misty glared at him. "Oh shut up, you would've done the same thing." she snapped.

"Which is why I'll never enter one." Misty rolled her eyes.

"Never say never Ash!" May trilled.

* * *

"Okay, that boy has got it bad for you." Misty said as May continued to stare at the rose in her hand. "That first time I sorta believed him. I mean, your Beautifly was pretty impressive, and that's the sort of thing I could see; a boy caring more about Pokémon-"

She stopped and narrowed her eyes as May giggled.

"Like Ash?" she teased.

"Hey, we're talking about you here." Misty complained. "Anyway, this is twice now. It's obvious." May glanced unsurely at the rose.

"I don't know." she mumbled. "Drew's just…so smug and annoying. He drives me crazy!" Misty laughed.

"Well, that's it then." May's eyes shot up.

"What?"

"Trust me, when they make you crazy, that's when you know." Misty said sagely.

"So…you _are_ in love with Ash." May exclaimed. Misty's face burned.

"Wha-what? No, you and Drew, that's-"

"Nu-uh. Me and Drew are just rivals. But you and Ash; I've been watching you guys for months now, and Brock said it's been like this forever." May smirked, her blue eyes sparkling maliciously.

"Brock? What, do you guys just sit around and talk about us behind our backs all the time?" Misty demanded. May shrugged.

"Not _all_ the time. Just when you two do something extra obvious and then totally ignore it." May tapped the rose thoughtfully against her chin. "So, yeah, actually. All the time."

"You're the one getting roses. How did this become about me?" Misty whined. May laughed again.

"Because you love Ash and everyone knows it."

"Except him." Misty corrected without thinking.

"See!" May threw her arms forward in excitement. Misty sighed, and sat down, defeated.

"Fine, but it doesn't change the fact that grass head likes _you_." she said, nudging May with her shoulder.

"No way, he's just teasing." May brushed the comment aside. "Let's talk more about Ash."

* * *

"Alright, you have to know those aren't for Beautifly now, right?" Misty said. May, who had been staring at the latest rose intently, snapped her gaze up onto the red head.

"Of course I know that." she said. "But it's more fun this way." Misty grinned.

"I guess so."

Ash snorted.

"But he said they were for Beautifly. Who else would they be for?" Both girls rounded on him with incredulous looks.

"I hate when you two do that." he muttered.

"Seriously?" May asked. Ash just stared at her.

"You can't think of any other reason Drew would be giving May the roses and not just giving them to Beautifly directly?" Misty prompted.

"Well, if Beautifly is in her Pokeball, of course he would have to give them to May instead." Ash reasoned. Misty smacked her palm into her forehead.

"Pika chu, Pikapi." the Pokémon sounded as exasperated as Misty felt.

"What?" he demanded, looking between Pikachu and Misty. May stood up, twirling her rose in her fingers.

"I'll leave this to you. He'd your lost cause after all." she said as she walked away.

"What does _that_ mean?" Ash asked. Misty sighed.

"Oh, Ash."

* * *

"Well you two ,Pewter City is this way, and Pallet Town is that way. So I guess this is where we say goodbye." Brock said lightly.

"Mmhmm." Ash and Misty both nodded at him before glancing at each other.

"You have a safe trip back home." Ash said.

"I'll see you again soon. Don't forget about me when it's just the two of you." He said.

"Oh, come on Brock, it's not like we haven't been here before…twice. You know we'll be fine." Ash said.

"You know that's not what I meant." Brock raised his eye brows suggestively. They each blushed.

"Right, well, see you later Brock!" Misty said.

"Bye now." Brock turned and walked away, and Ash and Misty did the same.

* * *

A little while later, Ash's stomach rumbled loudly.

"Lunch time already?" Misty said airily. Ash rubbed the back of his head.

"Guess so. Hey!" He stopped, and looked around. "This is great, I actually know the perfect place we can go." he grabbed her hand, and tore off through the trees.

"Hey, Ash, careful! What are you-" she was rendered speechless as she looked around where they had come to halt.

"Look, it's the pond where you fished us out!" He spread his arms proudly, emphasizing the scenery behind him. "Where we first met. Isn't that cool?"

"Pi Pikachu!" Misty could feel the lump forming in her throat.

"Ash, you…you remembered that?" she choked a little, and silently cursed herself.

"Course I did. It was the best day of my life." he beamed at her, and she could feel herself melting. Then, as she should have probably expected, Ash's stomach growled again, much more loudly this time.

"Well, Mr. Sentimental, I guess we should probably eat." she smiled.

* * *

"Wow, the Viridian Gym. It looks brand new!"

"Hey there you two, are you Pokémon trainers!"

"Yes." Ash and Misty nodded in unison.

"Hi, I'm Scott and I'm an agent."

"Nice to meet you." They chorus. The man laughed. Then tilted his sunglasses down.

"You must be here for a gym battle. What are your names?" The pair exchanged a look.

"I'm Misty, but I'm a gym leader myself, technically."

"And I'm Ash. But Actually I already have the badge from this gym."

"So you two must be really good then. Maybe you'd qualify for Battle Frontier." The man grinned a little creepily.

"Battle Frontier, what are you talking about?" Ash said.

"Well now, I'm glad you asked!" Scott said, but he was interrupted by a shout. They all whipped around to see an old woman who had fallen off her bike.

"Oh no!"

"Wow, they are scary in sync." Scott remarked under his breath as they spoke in unison for a third time.

"I'll help you up!" Ash said, reaching out a hand.

"Oh, it's alright. I just took that last turn a little too fast. At least I didn't land on the tomatoes!" The old woman said, standing up.

"Here, let me carry your bag." Ash said.

"And I'll get your bike." Misty added, picking it up.

"Thank you young children. You can just help me get them into the gym over there."

* * *

Agatha had insisted on a tag battle, despite being on her own. She said she wanted to see what each of them could do, but as it turned out, even together the old woman was too much for them.

"Well done, well done you two. You showed a lot of creativity, and a great understanding of each other. You two really gave me a good battle. You're quite the couple."

"Oh, we're not…" Misty began, but Ash began talking over her.

"Yeah, but even together we're not nearly as good as you." Ash moped.

"Well now, you didn't really expect to beat a member of the Elite 4 did you?" Scott said.

"Huh, Elite 4?!"

"Do they always do that?" Agatha whispered to Scott, who nodded. "I'm filling in until the permanent new gym leader arrives, but I figured if you knew, you would have been intimidated."

"Yeah, maybe a little." Misty said.

"But because you didn't know, you fought a good hard battle. You and Pikachu and you and Gyarados keep training and you'll go far. Especially you Misty. We Elite four trainers are all type specialists. I'm going to make sure to keep an eye on you."

"Oh, wow! Thank you!" Misty said, blushing with embarrassment. "I'd never really thought about that."

"Well Ash, Misty, what do you say?"

"Yep, I'll do it!" Ash blurted. Misty took a moment longer. She looked down at the little Azuril in her arms.

"Me too. I'm in." she said confidently.

* * *

"Ash, did you realize that Agatha called us a couple?" Misty said as they walked. The pair were trudging the last few miles to Pallet Town. Ash didn't even break his stride as he hopped across some rocks.

"Did she?" he asked. Misty frowned at him as she jumped along behind.

"Yeah."

"I honestly didn't even notice." he said, coming to a stop, and holding out his hand to help her hop from the last rock to the bank. She took it and landed next to him. Neither of them let go.

"Well that's a switch." she said. Ash considered that.

"I guess it is." he observed.

"We used to blow up at anyone who even implied we might care about each other, let alone what we did to people who thought we were romantic." she mused. Ash laughed.

"Good times."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder to Misty's, and they both laughed before realizing they were still holding hands. They let go, both blushing a little.

"Glad we're not still like that." Ash said, beginning to walk.

"Yeah. Me too." Misty agreed, falling into step beside him.

Battle Frontier

Ash finished explaining the Battle Frontier to May.

"And you can both challenge the brains, even if your together?" she asked. Ash and Misty nodded.

"So you'll be rivals then." May declared. Misty grinned and glanced sideways at Ash.

"Oo, does this mean I get flowers now?" she joked.

"Of course! That's what _rivals_ do right?" Ash carried on. May stared nonplussed between them.

"Only rivals that like each other." Misty corrected with a wink. Ash blushed, and it took Misty a second to figure out why. She had forgotten that none of the others had been around in the last week when the pair of them had stopped pretending like there wasn't something between them. They hadn't actually talked about it yet, but they had definitely turned a corner.

"Are you…making fun of me? Because honestly, I can't tell. It just sorta looks like you two flirting." May pointed out. Ash cleared his throat and Misty looked away.

"It looked like both." Tracey said with a chuckle.

"Well then I am both annoyed and ecstatic." May said with a sage nod.

"That's stupid." Max grumbled, his expression dark.

* * *

"But what do you want to date _him_ for?" Max pouted. Misty grinned and knelt down.

"Is this jealousy I detect Max?" she asked. Max blushed and looked away.

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous." he scoffed. Misty laughed.

"Look, it's nothing personal. We can't help who we fall in love with, right?" Max kicked the ground.

"No…"

"You're a great kid Max. But you'll find someone out there who is much better for you than me." Max sniffed.

"I don't think she heard you Ash." Max drawled, as May bolted off toward her green haired rival.

"That girl has a one track mind." Misty agreed.

"What?" Ash asked. Misty rounded on him.

"You can't be serious." she said.

"What?" Ash repeated more forcefully.

"Oh come on, they are so obvious. Don't you just want to go up and smack them and demand they stop being oblivious to the fact that they like each other?" she waved a hand to where the two coordinators were talking. Brock coughed loudly.

"Yeah, I mean, it must be so _frustrating_." he said. Misty glared at him, and to her surprise, so did Ash.

"Hey, sometimes it's just hard to admit how you feel." They all looked down at Max, who had a huge blush across his face. Misty shook her head, but before she could say anything, May reappeared.

"So, did you see your boyfriend off alright?" Max teased, probably to divert attention away from himself. May puffed out her cheeks, but didn't protest.

* * *

"Congratulations Ash, Misty, now you've both conquered all seven of the battle facilities. And now you're each members of the Battle Frontier Hall of Fame." Scott said. Though Misty had defeated Brandon before Ash, she had insisted Scott wait to give her her award until they could do it together. She was glad she had as he held out a plaque to each of them containing their frontier symbols, and listing their names and the Pokémon they had used.

"Thank you so much." she said.

"Yeah, it's been a real honor Scott." Ash added.

"It would be an even bigger honor if you'd each consider becoming one of our frontier brains." Scott said, spreading his arms wide.

Misty's pulse quickened, and she couldn't bring herself to look at Ash as he "hmm"ed quietly to himself. That noise scared her. Her first instinct was to scream "yes, of course!" They could be a double battle facility, and stay together forever.

"You see, the thing is, there's still so many awesome people and places I haven't even seen yet. And that means there are still so many awesome battles out there for me to win!" He said. Misty's heart sank. So much for that first idea. Now, if she said yes, it would mean separating from Ash, and she didn't want to do that. They had been together for years; they were a part of each other, and now, well, they were finally _together_ together. Could she really walk away from that? Her dream and Ash's had been in sync for so long, but what Agatha had said nearly a year ago had really stuck with her, nagging in the back of her mind.

Her apex as a type specialist was to become an Elite Four, and those trainers were usually gym leaders first. Scott had warned them that the brains were every bit as powerful as Agatha, so wouldn't becoming one be the next logical step? With a start she realized everyone was staring at her. She turned to Ash, his bright brown eyes alight, waiting for her to turn Scott down too. She held his gaze, torn. Finally she blinked.

"Ash is right." she said with a smile. I'm not ready to stop traveling." she ignored the sharp intake of breath from May behind her, and laced her fingers with Ash's.

"I understand." Scott said. "Just remember, we'll always be here if you change your mind." Misty bit her lip.

* * *

"So I guess you two will be taking a boat from here back to Hoenn." Brock said.

"Right." May agreed.

"And I'll be heading back to Pewter City." Brock continued.

"And we'll be heading back to Pallet Town." Ash said, squeezing Misty's hand. She smiled weakly.

"Which means we'll all soon be home." May finished. Misty looked off to the side as the rest of them gazed out at the harbor.

"Yeah." she murmured.

* * *

"A Pokémon contest! I want to do it!" May said.

"Me too!" Ash said. Everyone stared at him.

"What? It can't be an official contest, which means I don't need a pass. We should both do it!" he turned to Misty.

"I guess it could be fun." she said slowly. "Alright." she agreed.

"Yeah!" Ash cheered.

* * *

 _So, Ash and May coming up before the final of the Terra Cotta contest, and May beating him, and that whole final tie thing being with Misty instead. I ran out of time/motivation to watch that episode and re-write the whole thing, but that's the main point._

* * *

"May, you need to go to Johto by yourself." Misty said. "But you need to do it for you, not because of Drew." May glanced at her. "You can't let the boy you like dictate your life." Even Misty heard the edge in her voice, and hastily smiled. May wasn't fooled.

"You wish you had taken Scott up on his offer, don't you?" she asked. Misty glanced back to make sure they were alone.

"Maybe…" she clasped her hands in her lap. "I just keep thinking that that was my next step, you know, as a type specialist. If I want to be a water Pokémon master, should I have taken a position with them? Isn't that exactly what I'm aiming for?" May placed a hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"Traveling and meeting water types around the world is good too." she said with a reassuring smile. Misty gazed at her.

"But I didn't turn him down so that I could keep going and meet more different kinds of Pokémon. I turned him down because Ash did." she was feeling slightly panicked at having admitted this.

"Hey, it's alright. You two have always been together, it makes sense." May said.

"Just, don't lose sight of your own dream, okay?" she sighed.

"Don't worry Misty, I'm not doing it because I like Drew. I'm doing it because I need to stand on my own two feet, without you and Ash helping me and influencing me." May sounded determined, and Misty smiled.

"Good. Also, thanks for finally admitting it." May's eyes widened in shock.

"I…I didn't…" Misty laughed.

"It's okay May, you can like your rival. It's about balance." May smiled back at her.

"Yeah, alright," she said, "balance." May glanced at the docks.

"When are you going to tell them?" Misty asked, jerking her head back toward the picnic table where Brock was preparing lunch, and Ash and Max were messing around.

"Now?" May shrugged. Misty hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping the brunette in a tight hug. Clearly surprised, it took May a moment to reciprocate, but when she did it was rib achingly tight.

"I'm gonna miss you, small fry." Misty wheezed.

"You too, stilts." May laughed. They broke apart.

"Well, let's go do this." May grumbled.

"Hey, at least Brock's cooking should soften the blow." Misty pointed out.

* * *

"Max, what's going on?" May called as her brother got up and started to walk away.

"I'm sure Max is thinking about his journey right about now." Brock said.

"Kay, I'll go talk to him." Ash said, starting to stand.

"Hold on Ash, I think I've got this one." Misty said, placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Just give me a sec." She kissed him on the cheek, then started off after the younger boy. When she caught up to him he had perched himself on a swing set. Misty grinned.

"This seat taken?" she asked, gesturing to the other swing.

"I guess not." Max said moodily. Misty sat down.

"So, you want to talk about it?" she prompted. He looked up and sniffed.

"Big sisters ruin everything." he grumbled. Misty laughed.

"Ah, this again." she said.

"Well they do! May leaving me behind means I won't get to keep seeing new Pokémon and learning all sorts of new things. I just want to be able to battle too. Watching the two of you in the contest, I was jealous I couldn't be up there." Misty raised her eye brows. "Plus, I won't be able to stay with you…guys." Misty grinned.

"Max…" she began.

"I know, I know." he conceded.

"Hey, you know what Max, I'll make you a deal!" Misty snapped her fingers. "When you get your first pokemon and become a trainer, we'll battle." she grinned.

"Then I could totally prove that I'm worthy. It'll be a cinch. After watching you battle for the last two years, I know every trick up your sleeve!" he declared.

"Right, you better train hard. I don't go giving my heart to just anyone." she said.

"Plus, that'll give you time to get sick of Ash!" Max shouted. Misty snorted, and glanced up. Max hadn't been paying attention, but the others had come within ear shot, and Ash looked torn between laughing and coming over and smacking him.

"Alright, let's not get too carried away." Misty said.

"It's a promise, right?" Max pressed on. Misty stood up and offered him her hand.

"Promise." A foghorn blew in the distance.

"Ah, Max, that's our ship!" May screeched. "We've got to go!"

They made it, but only just. They all waved as the ship pulled away.

"Bye Misty! Don't forget what you promised me!" Max shouted.

"Don't worry Max, you'll be there to remind me!" Misty called back. Ash rolled his eyes.

"Bye you guys!" everyone was shouting.

After several minutes of waiting, they lost sight of them.

"Well, they're gone." Brock said.

* * *

"Pallet Town is to the left." Ash said.

"And Pewter City is to the right." Brock added.

"So I guess this is it." Ash grabbed Misty's hand, something he didn't usually do, but had done twice today alone. She considered him, but didn't get the chance to say anything as Brock turned to face them.

"No funny business when I'm gone you two." the pair of them blushed, and after glancing down at their interlocked hands, stepped pointedly away from one another.

"Of course not!" Ash shouted, a little more dramatically than was necessary.

Brock smirked.

"Tell Delia hi for me." he said.

"We will." Ash whispered.

"Well, good bye then, Brock." Misty finally spoke up.

"Yeah, see you later." They waved as they headed in their separate directions.

* * *

"So, just the two of us again." Ash said.

"Funny how it keeps ending up that way." Misty remarked. She had meant for it to be joking, but she hadn't really managed it. Ash didn't seem to notice.

"Nah, that's how it's supposed to be. Me you and Pikachu." he said, putting his hands behind his head. "Together forever." Misty grinned, though briefly.

"Yeah, forever." she whispered.

Sinnoh

"Wow, that is such a cute water Pokémon!" Misty gushed.

"Mar!" he own little blue water mouse spoke up.

"Sorry, second cutest." she amended. She eyed the little Pokémon.

"We're supposed to be looking for Pikachu." she began a fierce internal debate, stay and watch the young girl and her penguin battle, or carry on. Her answer was provided for her however, as none other than Pikachu fell out of a bush in front of them.

"Piplup, bubblebeam!" The girl called.

"Hold on!" Misty jumped out from her own position on the other side of the road, just as Pikachu fired its own thunderbolt to counter.

"Ah, my bike!" Misty cringed as the stray attack scored a direct hit on the girl's nearby bicycle.

"Not again, Pikachu." she groaned.

"What's going on here?" the girl demanded, sticking her hands on her hips and frowning. "Is this your Pikachu?" Misty frowned right back at her.

"No, it's my boyfriends. We were trying to get away from this group of people called Team Rocket."

"Is that a twerp I hear?" A high female voice rang through the forest, and Misty's shoulders slumped.

"Them." she sighed. She spun around to come face to face with Jessie, James, Meowth, Seviper and Mime Jr.

"Why did you follow us here?!" she shouted.

"That Pikachu is our ticket to the top." Meowth declared proudly. Misty growled.

"We'll see about that. Gyarados!" she pulled out her Pokeball, and Meowth and James paled quickly. Jessie however, remained determined as the large blue dragon emerged.

"Whoa." Misty grinned at the amazed expression from the girl behind her.

"Hyper Beam!" she shouted. It hit team rocket with full force, sending them flying.

"Looks like team rocket's blasting off again!"

"That was amazing!" The girl rushed up, as Misty turned to scoop up the exhausted Pikachu.

"Thanks. Sorry about your bike." Misty nodded. "This seems to keep happening."

"Pi-ka." Pikachu apologized weakly from her arms.

"Sorry, I know none of them were really your fault." she cooed.

"You said that Pikachu belongs to your boyfriend?" The girl prodded.

"Yeah, we split up to cover more ground. We should get to the Pokémon center right away, only I'm not from around here, I don't know where the nearest one is."

"No need to worry!" The girl cheered. "I'm from Twinleaf Town, I know exactly where we need to go. Follow me!" The two girls ran off down the road.

"I'm Dawn, by the way." the girl with blue hair said.

"Misty."

* * *

Misty stared after the purple haired boy as he stalked away.

"He sort of has a point." she said. Ash rounded on her.

"How could you say something like that?" he demanded. Misty merely raised an eyebrow at him, and he took an automatic step back. His glare didn't lessen any however.

"I know that the bond between a trainer and their Pokémon is important, but it is smart to think about what Pokémon you catch. It's not like it's harder to bond with a strong Pokémon, but it can be a lot harder to train a weak one, even if you are connect to it. Like, I loved Togepi more than anything, but did you ever see me actually battle with it?"

"That's insane! He's crazy, and if you think he's right, then so are you." Ash shouted.

"I am not saying he's right, I'm just saying that there's a gray area there!" She shouted back, her anger rising in a way that only Ash could cause.

"There is not a gray area! The bond is the most important thing!"

"Strategy is important too!"

"Bond!"

"Strategy too!"

"Bond!"

"Strategy too!"

They continued shouting, as Brock just smiled, exasperated, as Dawn's head back and forth like she was watching a tennis match.

"I thought they were a couple?" she said, not taking her eyes off them. Brock laughed.

"Oh, they are." he said.

"But…"

"Don't worry, this is just what they do; always have. Apparently always will." he shook his head and sighed.

* * *

"You gave him Azumaril?" Ash demanded as the kid ran off.

"Yeah, so." Paul drawled.

Just because it lost!" Misty shrieked at him. Up to that point, she hadn't really had a problem with this Paul guy. His methods were harsh, and nothing like Ash, but they were effective, and Misty could sort of respect his commitment to power. Now though, she was beginning to get seriously annoyed.

"That was as good as that Azumaril was gonna get." Paul snapped.

"What? You could have kept training it you know!" Misty leaned in, glaring daggers at the boy.

"Please, only a loser like your boyfriend over there would believe something dumb like that. I thought you were made of stronger stuff." Paul sneered.

"Hey!" Misty took a step forward, but, Ash and Brock showed up at her arms, straining to hold her back. Dawn came skidding to a halt in between them, holding her arms out.

"Now wait a minute! Can't we all just get along?" she said urgently, looking up at Paul.

"And who are you?" he asked. Dawn's face puffed out in anger.

"Excuse me mister, we've met once before. The name's Dawn!"

"Don't remember you." Paul said off handedly.

"Argh!" The blunette flashed forward quicker than any of them could have anticipated. Ash and Brock had both been too concerned with holding Misty back, they hadn't even had a second to try and stop the younger girl. The next thing they knew, Paul was holding his cheek, and Dawn was breathing hard, shaking out her hand. Misty went slack in the boy's arms.

"Did she just…?" Brock trailed off. Misty grinned impishly.

"I knew I liked her." she said.

* * *

The tales of the strong Buizel were beyond tantalizing, even to Ash, who normally couldn't stand to stay still long enough for fishing.

"I'm totally gonna catch that Buizel, Ash, you don't stand a chance!" Misty said smugly. "Because I've got my Misty special all ready to go." She flashed the lure, which she had hand crafted to look just like herself, and mimicked it's victory pose.

"Yeah, that's what you said about Totodile too." Ash teased. "Remind me, how did that one turn out?" Misty glared at him.

"Hey! You cheated. That could have been my lureball too!" she fumed.

"Ah, old times." Brock said, looking out over the water.

"What's a Totodile?" Dawn asked. She pulled out her Pokedex to look up the Johto starter, trying to tune out Ash and Misty's bickering.

"Are you sure about this Dawn?" Misty asked.

"Definitely. Buizel likes battling much more, and you said yourself that Spheal has always had more flair for the dramatic." Dawn's dark blue eyes sparkled with so much excitement that Misty couldn't help smiling at her.

* * *

"I think it's a great idea." Ash said. "I sorta wish I could get Buizel, but you're definitely the right trainer for it. Besides, this makes us even for Totodile." he grinned, and Misty smirked at him.

"Alright," she said, turning back to Dawn, and pulling out Spheal's Pokeball, "let's do this."

* * *

"But you said contests were too much like what your sisters do." Ash said skeptically. "Don't get me wrong, I like this," he gestured to her outfit, a replica of the Goldeen one she had worn at that magic show years ago, "but…" Misty glared at him.

"It's a celebration of Water Type Pokémon, of course I'm going to do it, and so are you." Ash laughed and wrapped her arm around her waist.

"And so is May, and Dawn, and Zoe, and…" Misty smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ash, please tell me you actually understand why I'm doing this." Ash looked confused.

"Because you want to be the greatest water Pokémon master ever, and that means knowing everything about them, and proving that you're the best at using them, including making them look good." Misty blinked at him in surprise. "What, I pay attention." He shrugged, then grinned.

"For example, that outfit," he nodded down at her, "is the one you got from that magician. I liked it then because I thought it was funny. Now though…" he kissed her and she forgot for a second what she was upset about. "I like it a whole lot more."

"This isn't over Ash." she said against his lips as he kissed her again.

"It is for now." he replied.

He was right.

* * *

"Prinplup, Togekiss, spotlight!" Misty clapped along with the rest of the crowd as Dawn released her newly evolved starter. It had been hesitant at first about evolving for the sake of preserving its bond with Dawn, but after more interaction with Misty and her own powerful water types it seemed to have been inspired. As always though, Misty had to check her emotions as she gazed at the Psychic type. Ash squeezed her hand, and she smiled. They had been shaky since their fight at the Wallace Cup, but it was little things like that that made her realize she'd made the right choice.

Unova

"But you need to go back to Kanto! Lucian told you, you can only go for the Champion League by winning your home league." Misty actually stomped her foot in frustration. "This is a waste of time!" Ash's mouth was pressed in a tight line.

"I don't think-"

"What, that you're ready for it?" Misty cut him off. "Of course you are Ash. You came in Top 4 in Sinnoh Ash. That's the best you've ever done! You can definitely win the Indigo League, and you know it." ash glared at her some more, but she refused to back down.

"But if we go back to Kanto, we'll have to split up." He finally said, his shoulders slumping. Misty was so surprised she didn't even bother to close her mouth for a full 20 seconds.

" _That's_ what you're avoiding?"

Ash peaked up at her from under the brim of his hat.

"Well, you sure don't seem to care, and one of us should." The anger flared back up in her.

"Ash, I'm going back to the gym either way. You going back to Kanto is the best option for both of us. You wouldn't even have to travel all that much. I mean you should, since most of your Kanto badges shouldn't even count…"

"Hey!" he protested. She ignored him.

"But the point is I need to be a real gym leader, and you need to actually take the next step." he considered her for a moment.

"This is how you've felt since Johto, isn't it?" he asked. Misty blushed and looked away.

"What do you mean?" her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Being torn between what you want and what I want." he replied. She couldn't look at him.

"I've been telling you that for a year now." she scoffed.

"Yeah, but until now, I didn't really get it. This sort of sucks." She glanced at him.

"Ash, this isn't about want. This is about taking the next step. Moving forward. You can't keep traveling from league to league forever. You want to be a Pokémon master, you need to play the game." Ash stared at his shoes for much longer than Misty would have liked. She was just starting to worry that he was going to tell her that she was nuts and he was staying when he looked up, his eyes full of concern.

"We'll still be together though, right, even if I do go out and re-challenge the gyms?" Misty was so relieved she laughed as she smacked him in the shoulder.

"Of course dummy! I've put over five years into this, I'm not letting you go that easy." Ash smiled at her.

"Thanks for always being here to push me, Mist." she took his hand and laced his fingers with hers.

"Hey, I don't call you Mr. Pokémon Master for nothing. Someday it won't be a joke." He pulled at their intertwined hands, and she fell forward into his chest.

"Love you." he said, his brown eyes sparkling in the bright Unova sun.

"Love you." she whispered back.

Kalos

"You never told me you went to summer camp." Misty was trying as hard as she possibly could not to laugh, because the poor girl already looked like she wanted to disappear into her hair.

"I forgot." Ash said, still looking a little perplexed. "Gary made it hell, I tried to block it out."

"Well, um, I just wanted to thank you, you know, for helping me then." The girl said, turning almost as red as her skirt. "When I saw you on the news…"

Misty's face darkened and Ash shot her a furtive glance.

"Ah, yes, that." she said tersely. "My idiot boyfriend jumping off of stuff. Usually it's cliffs, but he really out did himself with that tower."

"It turned out fine, just like always! I had to save Pikachu!"

"We're not doing this again." Misty said simply. "It was sweet of you to come though Serena. It's always nice to hear that even when Ash was being tormented by Gary he could still make time to be a good friend." She smiled at the girl.

"So, are you starting a journey?" She nodded down at the small fox Pokémon at Serena's feet. "That's a Kalos fire type starter right?"

"Oh!" the girl looked down, surprised, as she had been staring at Ash. Misty tried not to jump to anger. She had dealt with jealousy before, but Serena, though obviously into Ash, seemed sweet enough otherwise.

"I guess so. Though, I'm not really sure what I want to do." she kicked at the ground. "Are you going to stay here in Kalos for awhile?" Serena asked. Misty eyed Ash apprehensively. It was a question she didn't actually know the answer to. He grabbed her hand, and the girl stared at it.

"Not too long. We came to learn a little more about Mega Evolution, and maybe meet a few new Pokémon, but I've got to train for the Champion League, and Misty here is a gym leader, so she can't stay away too long." Ash grinned and Misty felt her heart rate sky rocketing. She squeezed his hand, and looked at the poor girl twisting her toe into the dirt.

"You could come with us, if you wanted, until you figure out what you want to do." Ash suggested brightly. Misty tried to keep the annoyance off her face.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't want to impose!" Serena said, blushing and waving her hands in front of her face in a way that sort of reminded Misty of May.

"Not at all! It's the least I can do after not remembering you." he used his free hand to scratch the back of his head, embarrassed.

Misty had been looking forward to being in romantic Kalos alone with her boyfriend. They hadn't traveled just the two of them for more than a couple weeks in all the years they'd been roaming the world, and she had been ecstatic that they were finally doing it in her dream region. She looked at Ash, so happy at the prospect of helping out someone he couldn't even fully remember, just because it was the right thing to do. She sighed, and turned to Serena, whom she realized was staring at her.

It wouldn't matter what Ash said. Serena wasn't going to join them unless she was sure Misty approved. The red head nodded.

"Of course." she beamed at the girl, highly amused by her look of shock. "It would be good to have a Kalos native around. Ash has a habit of getting lost." she laughed once as Ash scowled.

"Hey!"

Serena finally smiled, whether at Ash's discomfort or at the prospect of being useful, Misty wasn't sure.

"Alright, that sounds really good!" she agreed.

 **A/N:** Yeah…that…got WAY bigger than I meant for it to. I meant for this to be a short blurb from each region, until I got to Unova, which was always intended to be non-existent (not that I have anything against it, I just…always hated how they introduced the perfect plot device to propel the show forward then ignored it an "rebooted"). Sinnoh in particular was rough, because I only watched a handful of eps, but it was still pretty important. Anyway, hope you enjoyed my first ever (despite my 10+ years in this ship) Pokeshipping week piece, despite the length! See you tomorrow!


	2. Afraid of Losing You

With about 40 minutes to spare! This wasn't the easiest thing to come up with, and I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do for the prompt. I landed on jealous Ash though, and who doesn't love a good jealous Ash now and then? Anyhoo, enjoy!

Day 2- Afraid of Losing You

Ash stared at the scene in front of him. He probably should have known this was coming, but somehow he had convinced himself that maybe it wouldn't. Yet here they were, Bonnie on one knee, Clemont trying to drag her back, Serena gazing on in exasperated amusement, and Misty, looking so lost it almost made Ash want to laugh. Almost. A bigger part of him was…was…well something he wasn't really sure about, but it sure wasn't nice.

"I'm so sorry about her." Clemont was apologizing. "She always does this, even though I've asked her repeatedly not to." Misty bit her lip.

"She…always proposes to girls for you?" She sounded confused.

"Only really amazing girls who I know can take care of my brother. Ash has told us all about you, and you're perfect!" Bonnie gushed. Misty looked a little taken aback.

"I've got to stop rescuing girls with older brothers." she mumbled.

"Wait, what?" Serena had evidently heard despite Misty's whisper, and Misty jumped a little at the aside being addressed.

"Oh! Nothing just…" she glanced at Ash, who raised his eyebrows at her. "the last time I saved a little girl it ended up with a proposal from her older brother too." she laughed nervously, and Ash frowned.

"Rudi." he grimaced and crossed his arms. "That guy was weird." Bonnie, Clemont and Serena all shot him quizzical looks, but Misty smirked.

"And you turned him down?" Bonnie pressed.

"Bonnie!" Serena scolded. Misty held up a placating hand.

"It's alright, I did." She said with a smile. She glanced sideways at Ash.

"Yeah, and yet he still gave you a massive bouquet when we left."

"Why?" Bonnie pressed. "Was he mean? Smelly?" Misty laughed.

"Yes." Ash grumbled.

"No." Misty said at the same time.

"He was sweet, he just…wasn't what I wanted, ya know?"

"You turned him down for someone else? That's so romantic!" Bonnie cooed. Misty blushed faintly. "Who was the other guy? Was he handsome? Was he strong, or smart? Was a really good trainer? I bet he's an amazing trainer, because you're a gym leader, and you're super strong." Misty laughed again.

"He was cute, I guess, but he wasn't particularly smart or strong. He's changed a lot since then though…he's much smarter and stronger now." Ash's eyes widened in shock, and he turned quickly to her.

"Wait, what?" Misty looked a little shocked herself. "You still know this guy?"Misty's head dropped to her chest.

"Yes, Ash, I do." she said dully.

"It sounds like somebody is jealous." Bonnie teased, wagging her eyebrows suggestively in Ash's direction. He could feel his face heating up, just like he could feel all three sets of his friends eyes on him.

"I-I am not. I just, I don't know why I didn't know about this is all." he defended.

"I thought you did." Misty said. Ash turned to her.

"How the heck would I have known? Wait…are you talking about…" Misty leaned toward him, looking expectant. "You don't mean Tracey do you?" To his surprise, Misty wasn't the only one who groaned at this question.

"Ash!" Misty complained.

"What? He was the only other guy there!" Ash argued.

"Yes Ash, you and Tracey were the only guys there." Misty confirmed.

"So if it wasn't Tracey, then…" Ash's spine straightened, and his gaze slid past Misty into the woods.

"Clemont, Bonnie, I think we should go set up camp." There was something wrong with Serena's voice as she said that, but Ash was too in shock to acknowledge it. Soon the other three were gone, and Ash and Misty stood alone facing each other on the road.

"Say something Ash." Misty prompted after several long moments of silence. He turned his head slightly to look at her.

"Just so we're clear-"

"Yes, Ash, I…I meant you." she said a little hesitantly. Ash nodded once, then sank to the ground, crossing his legs as he went. Misty rolled her eyes, then sank down as well.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" he asked. Misty scoffed.

"You know I could ask you the same thing." she said. "I wasn't sure before, but that was a pretty impressive display of jealously just now." Ash frowned at her.

"I asked you first." he said.

"I asked you second." she retorted. The stared at each other for a few more seconds, brown battling green. Ash blinked.

"I…I was afraid of losing you." he muttered.

"You were what?" Misty sounded perplexed.

"If you didn't feel the same way." he explained. "I didn't want to scare you off. Then you left anyway, and I figured, it was better to just leave it the way it was, you know."

"Because being just friends was better than being nothing at all. Yeah." she looked down at her lap.

"And just now, when Bonnie was proposing to you; I knew it wasn't serious, she does that all the time."

"Which is sort of hilarious, by the way. It's almost like Brock." she laughed. "Sorry, go on." she said quickly at the look on Ash's face.

"I still felt…well…like I might be losing you forever." Misty blinked.

"You can't lose what you've never had Ash." she said.

Ash wasn't sure what made him do it. Maybe he had taken her answer as a sort of challenge. Maybe he had just been waiting to do that since the beginning of his Battle Frontier challenge. Maybe he'd been wanting to do it for a lot longer than that. Whatever the reason, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was quick, and he wasn't actually sure he'd done it, but if the shock on her face was anything to go by, he had.

"What was that?" she asked. She sounded confused, but he knew her well enough that he could detect the little bit of anger in there too, warning him that he'd better have a good explanation.

"You said you can't lose what you've never had. Now I have."

"What?" she asked again. Not good enough.

"I'm not actually sure." he admitted. "I just, obviously it wouldn't be to Clemont, but I don't want to lose you to someone else, or just lose you in general. I mean, you're going to have to go back to Cerulean, and I just thought that if I didn't, and you left, I would've-"

This time it was Misty who leaned forward. She lingered slightly longer than he had, but not by much.

"You're not making any sense, but if you're worried about it, don't bother. You couldn't lose me if you tried." she grinned at him. "You tried that, remember?" Ash scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously.

"Oh…right." She laughed, and Ash couldn't help grinning at the way her whole face lit up when she did. "Wait, so does this mean…?" he trailed off, still not sure what to say.

"Just kiss me again you idiot." she said.

He nodded.

"I can do that."

A/N: Wow. Well, that was…tough. Honestly, I knew this would be the one I would struggle with, which is why I put it off until, well, about an hour ago. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for this, but I settled on jealous Ash, because jealous Ash is my favorite. It's honestly like, 40% of my love for Pokeshipping, and my go to argument for justifying it, so I figured it was a good place to focus. Anyway, hopefully the rest of the week will be easier! Thanks for reading, and see you tomorrow!


	3. Doing Crazy Things For Love

This one was really fun, enjoy the fluff!

Doing Crazy Things For Love

It was really stupid; the crazy things people would do for the people they loved.

It was because of love that she was here now, and Misty had never felt more wrong. It wasn't just that it was itchy, and heavy and she felt like she had to fight to re-open her eyes with every blink. It wasn't that the mermaid extensions were digging into the back of her head. It wasn't even that the dress was too tight and the stiff lining made it so she couldn't slump. Although maybe it was all those things combined, because the problem was she just couldn't make herself believe that the person in the mirror was her.

"Why is this necessary again?" she reached up to touch her unbelievably itchy eye but her wrist was snatched into a very tight, perfectly manicured grasp.

"Because Lily said so. And what the bride says goes." Violet snapped. "And I swear I will tie your hands to that bouquet if you don't stop trying to touch your face.

"Daisy didn't make me wear makeup." Misty grouched.

"Daisy's theme wasn't Hollywood glam." Violet said, as though this should have been obvious. Misty frowned, and Violet rolled her eyes. "Speaking of Daisy, I'm going to go help her. You stay here. And don't touch!" She pointed an accusatory finger at her youngest sister.

"Alright, alright." Misty waved her off. Violet opened the door, and as she did, a black blur fell into the room.

"Sorry!" Ash apologized as he straightened up.

"Ugh, who let you back here?" Violet scoffed.

"Violet, weren't you going?" Misty sneered. Violet sparred Ash one last contemptuous glance before stalking out of the room.

"Don't!" her voice floated back, and Misty dropped her hand quickly.

"It's like she has make up senses or something." she complained.

"Um, I just wanted to make sure…whoa, Mist." Ash walked over. He had been looking back toward the door, but whatever he had been wanting to ask about was forgotten as his eyes fell on the red head.

"Not. One. Word." Misty said.

"No, it's…well…" Ash looked like he was torn between laughter and actually being impressed.

"I look ridiculous. I could go fight crime, and my identity would remain a secret." she threw her hands up in exasperation, and turned to face her boyfriend.

"No; well maybe." Ash shrugged, and Misty felt all the fight go out of her.

"I'm not going out there like this." she decided. "I can't." Ash raised his eyebrows at her.

"You think this is too ridiculous to be seen in?" he nodded at her. "You, who was so proud to run around in that nonsense that Team Rocket put you in that one time?"

"Hey! I was ten, and it was adorable." Misty countered. "I'd rather wear that than this. I look so, so, "

"Grown up?" Ash supplied.

"Yes! No!" Misty shook her head, and immediately felt dizzy, because there was more hair on her head than she was used to.

"No one is going to think you look ridiculous." Ash said quietly.

"I do." Misty answered, just as softly. Ash bit his lip, and opened his mouth, but the door opened again, and he never got the chance to speak.

"Misty, we, like, need you out here to help with programs." Daisy said, leaning in. She smiled apologetically.

"See you out there." Misty said morosely. Her last glimpse of Ash was him staring at the make-up still spread on the vanity. She hoped Violet wouldn't come back and find him alone with it. She might actually murder him.

* * *

Misty tried to ignore the murmurs as she made her way up the aisle. She knew it was stupid to think any of them were talking about her. After all, she was only the sister of the bride, and hardly knew any of Lily's fashion world guests. Still, with each step she wanted nothing more than to shrink away. The last thing she wanted to do was stand up there in full view of everyone. She made her way up the stairs, and turned to wait for Lily to make her grand entrance. She caught a glimpse of Tracey, standing on the other side, biting his lip, almost like he was trying not to laugh, but she ignored him. A flurry of music signaled that it was time for the bride to appear, and the whole crowd stood to watch her. One face, however, remained facing forward.

Violet and Daisy's glares were entirely warranted, as Misty let out a snort of laughter. She quickly buried her face in her flowers, but not before he sisters got a look at what had caused it.

"I will end him for this." Violet hissed.

"Not until the reception." Daisy whispered through her smile. Misty peaked back over her bouquet at Ash.

Ash, who had drawn a tear drop under his right eye and two red stripes on his chin, a large yellow star on the other cheek, and had covered the entire end of his nose in red like a clown.

 _Now you're not the most ridiculous. Love you._ He mouthed at her.

She wasn't sure whether to laugh again or to start crying. Neither option was really acceptable. She decided she should just settle for a quick smile, and her own mouthed _Love you more_ before turning back forward to where Lily had arrived and was looking confusedly at her sisters.

It was really amazing the crazy things people would do for the people they loved.

 **A/N:** It took me awhile to land on this idea, because Ash and Misty are both the type to do certifiably insane dangerous/over the top sort of things for each other, and I didn't really want to end up there. Crazy is the Pokeshipping M.O. So I tried to keep it a little more low key, and a little bit fluffy Hope you're all having as much fun this week as I am! I don't know why I never did this before.


	4. Family

This is what I get for trying to be "cool" and "not follow the crowd." I just end up following a different crowd, and banging my head against the wall doing it! Meh, it's fine, who doesn't love Delia, right? This is sorta set during Sinnoh.

 _Day 4-Family_

Despite having also met May in person, and having spoken to Dawn on the phone frequently, Delia only ever referred to Misty as "the daughter she never had." Ash had always assumed this was because Misty was the only one of them who did not, in fact, have her own mother. Maybe the first time he came home to find her waiting there, along with Professor Oak, he should have realized that wasn't the case, but it had never occurred to him that maybe his oldest friend had a relationship with his mother completely independent of him.

In fact, it sort of bothered him that his mother called her that, because if Misty was her daughter, and Ash was her son, that made them brother and sister, and he did NOT like that idea. He wasn't really sure why he could never see her that way. He had had no trouble slotting Brock, Tracey, May, Max, and Dawn into those sibling roles. An only child he might have been, but he hadn't felt that way since he was 11. Misty though…well he just couldn't think of her that way.

Then, he'd learned the phrase "in-law" and a whole new world opened up in his mind.

It was Byron, actually, who had turned his life upside down. He'd made a comment about how he couldn't wait to meet his future daughter, and Ash had asked what that meant.

* * *

"Does that mean Roark is going to have a sister? Because, he's like, old enough to have his own kids."

Byron laughed.

"No, no, I mean daughter in law; the girl my son is going to marry. Parents often times think of their children's husbands and wives as their kids too."

The conversation buzzed in the back of Ash's mind. Eventually it got so all consuming that he'd needed to call home.

"Ash, sweetie! What are you doing calling so late?" Delia greeted. "What's the matter." she'd added, seeing the perturbed look on his face.

"Am I going to marry Misty?" he asked. Delia blinked at him in surprise.

"What?" She asked.

"Am I going to marry Misty?" he repeated. Delia wasn't any less confused.

"Ash, what brought this on?" she prodded. Ash looked up at her, still frowning.

"Byron said that parents call the people their kids are going to marry 'son' or 'daughter' and that they're in laws." Ash explained. Delia began to grin, but remained silent for Ash to continue. "And you always say that Misty is the daughter you never had."

"Well, Ash, that's true, the girl you marry will be my daughter in law." She said. Ash's face flashed with worry.

"So I am going to marry her then?!" he said. Delia laughed.

"You don't have to marry Misty just because I already think of her as my daughter sweetie! I love Misty, but you're still very young. You never know what's going to happen." Ash's brow furrowed.

* * *

But after that day, he couldn't get the idea out of his head. Despite his mother's assurances, it had only confirmed what he had been thinking all along. All his friends were family, but Misty was different.

It took almost two years for that to actually manifest into realization that he didn't just love her, but that he was _in_ love with her, but manifest it did, and six years after Ash Ketchum learned the term daughter-in-law, Delia finally had one.

And Ash couldn't be happier that his mom had always thought of Misty her daughter.

* * *

 **A/N:** Not…not my best work. Honestly, I should probably have just given in and used my future child stuff that I've been developing steadily over the last 10 or so years :/ BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO FOLLOW THE CROWD! Urgh. There's a pretty good chance I'll add something future child related to the end of this whole thing when the week is over, just to make up for…whatever this was. If you did enjoy this, then that's cool I like the general idea of it, obviously, but it was like pulling teeth to get this out. I'm beyond spoilt for choice for the next two days though, so look forward to some stuff I really REALLY love!


	5. Long Distance

_After multiple drafts of things ranging from tedious to rambling to nonsense, I decided to just stop thinking so hard and go short and sweet._

Day 5-Long distance

It was never going to change anything.

The distance between them. It had never really mattered. At some point, they had transcended that sort of thing and it could be days or years since they had last spoken, and it wouldn't have mattered. They were each other's. Even if they had never actually acknowledged it, they both knew it.

Just like they knew that they couldn't alter their situation. At least not yet. They each had their dreams, and those dreams were taking them down different paths. He needed to roam, she needed to stay put. One of them giving up for the other simply wasn't a choice. Their paths would cross again. Their futures were in sync.

And until then, they went on knowing. Knowing that no matter how far, how long, how difficult, they were still always going to be there for each other when it really mattered. That one phone call could bring the other running. So he kept a fishing lure, wrapped carefully in a pink and yellow handkerchief, and she kept a worn out hat.

They knew that miles didn't negate love, even if they didn't know just what kind of love it was they were waiting for.

 **A/N:** The. Frustration. I learned over the course of today, that all of my old stuff is still locked on my old hard drive. I also learned that EVERY SONG ABOUT LONG DISTANCE EVER reminds me of Ash and Misty, and I couldn't focus in on one idea. But it's 1 AM, and I really need to go to bed, and short as this is, I actually sort of love this. Short sappy things are my favorite sort of Ash and Misty things.


	6. Long Distance-re-do

GOOD NEWS! I found the piece I had actually wanted to use for yesterday! I'm sorry about the double post/day 6 fake out, but I HAD to put this up. It's a bit of a stretch to the theme, but distance is at the core of it. Enjoy!

Day 5 (again)-Long Distance

"So what are you going to do next?" Misty asked, looking anywhere but at Ash. She knew the answer, but she would be damned if she wasn't going to make him say it.

"On to the next adventure I guess." he mumbled.

"You know, sometimes staying in one place can be an adventure." she said. Ash laughed once.

"Well I'm sure with you it would be."

"But you can't stay." she said. Ash looked at his shoes. "That wasn't a question. I mean it."

He looked back up, confused.

"You…don't _want_ me to stay?" he asked. Misty shook her head, blinking quickly.

"No. I'm not going to hold you back Ash. I'm not going to have you waking up in 10 years regretting your choices and resenting me for them. You're not ready to stand still."

"Then come with me." he implored her. "Like before." Misty smiled sadly.

"I can't leave here." she said.

"Forget your stupid sisters! They can do fine without you!" he shouted. His eyes widened, as though he had taken even himself by surprise.

"It's not because of them. Your dream is to be a Pokemon Master, but do you remember mine?" Misty asked.

"To be the world's best water Pokémon Master." Ash supplied. "Which is why you were traveling, and why you should again." Misty shook her head again.

"The trainers that specialize in one type lead gyms Ash. They lead gyms, and they hope to someday join a group of Elite 4." Ash frowned.

"So you can't leave, and I can't stay."

"We're back at square one." Misty agreed. Ash looked down for a long moment. Misty couldn't read his expression. Suddenly, he looked up, face intense, brown eyes ablaze.

"No."

And then he was kissing her. His hands were on either side of her face, and though she was surprised at first, it didn't take long for her hands to find their way to his shoulders. Before she wanted it to be, the kiss was over.

"We're way past square one." Ash said. "Someday, I'll be a master, and you'll be in the Elite Four and we won't have to resent each other."

"And until then?" Misty whispered.

"Until then you're my best friend." He grinned at her, and she couldn't help but grin back.

"Well you've always been my best friend." she said. They stared at each other for a moment, then Misty pulled him into a hug. As they broke apart, she kissed his cheek.

"Good luck out there Mr. Pokémon Master."

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse came bounding toward them from the gym. He jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Pi Pikachu." he said. Ash patted him on the head.

"Time to hit the road, huh buddy?" he said. He looked back to Misty.

"Catch ya later, Mist." he said. Misty nodded.

"Pi Pi Pikachupi!" Pikachu waved his paw at her, and she waved in return. With one last grin Ash turned and began to walk out of Cerulean City. Misty watched, only vaguely aware that her cheeks were wet. Then she let out a laugh as she realized that this was the first time _she_ was watching _him_ leave and not the other way around.

"Fair is fair I guess." she told herself. "Someday Ash."

She stood there long after he was out of sight. She turned, only to be met by Daisy, who did not look happy.

"Did he just, like, leave?" she demanded.

"Yes." Misty answered.

"And now you're just going to go back to pining after him while he goes who knows where with who knows what girl? Just like that, and right back where you started."

Misty glanced back over her shoulder.

"No, not where we started." Daisy threw her hands up in exasperation.

"What's so different this time?" she asked. Misty smiled.

"This time we know where we're going."

And with that, she strode past her sister and back into the gym.

 **A/N:** SO much happier with this one. I can't believe this was right in front of my face yesterday, and I never bothered to check that notebook as I was tearing through the rest trying to find it! Anyway, give me a few hours, and I'll have my actual day 6 post up.


	7. Memories

I meant for this to be angst ridden and broody and melancholy, and instead I got confused HoneyLemon family and adorable Ash. Go figure.

 **Day 6-Memories**

"He's doing it again." Bonnie whispered. Serena and Clemont glanced down at her, then followed her finger to Ash, who was sitting off on his own, scribbling madly away in a notebook, and the familiar girl shaped fishing lure (which he never actually seemed to use for fishing) was propped up against his back pack in front of him. Serena sighed, and Clemont hummed thoughtfully.

"I wonder what did it this time." He mused.

"Could've been anything." Serena said with a shrug. "Maybe it was that battle? He does it after most of his gym battles."

"He did it when we met Goomy, and found out he was afraid of bug types." Clemont added.

"And when he had to let Goodra go." Bonnie chimed in.

"And after I tried to catch that Corsola." Serena tapped her chin thoughtfully.

"Don't forget when we met Tierno, Shauna and Trevor with their Kanto Pokémon." Bonnie said.

"Or that creepy house? He spent most of the next day writing after that." Clemont recalled.

"And when he got Noibat's egg, that was a long one too." Serena said.

"He was at it for awhile after that festival when we all dressed up like Pokémon, and even Pikachu was a Psyduck." Clemont said.

"I think the longest one was after we saw Moltres though." Bonnie remembered.

"He also does it just about every time we see a water type." Clemont concluded.

"Or maybe it was because we had carrots for dinner. He always does it after carrots." Bonnie pointed out.

The three Kalos natives gazed at their friend with varying degrees of curiosity and interest.

"None of those things go together though." Bonnie whined after a few moments.

"Do you think he'll ever actually tell us why he does that?" Clemont asked.

"Probably not." Serena answered with a small smile.

"Maybe he's telling the lure girl stories." Bonnie suggested enthusiastically. The older two exchanged a look above her head, sharing amusement at her childish imagination.

"Maybe." Serena conceded encouragingly.

* * *

 _Dear Misty,_

 _It's starting to be weird how many things are reminding me of when we traveled together lately. At first, I thought it was just coincidence, but when I started to write just now I realized that I'm almost out of notebook. It all started with that Corsola Serena tried to catch, and now here we are, almost a whole 100 pages later._

 _We had carrots with dinner again tonight. Every time I eat them I remember how much you hated them. Bonnie doesn't like vegetables either, but of course I told you all about that._

 _I battled Olympia a few days ago. She uses psychic types, and she's a psychic herself. Don't worry though, she was nothing like Sabrina. Remember how she turned us into dolls and tried to kill us with a bowling ball?_ _And her dad pulling down my pants and making me dance?_ _Never mind, ignore that. But she was totally scary. Olympia wasn't scary like that. She didn't move stuff or change things so much, but she could tell the future. She had a prophecy about me and some crisis, which is sorta scary, but it's not like that hasn't happened before either._

 _Remember the Prophesy of the Chosen One? The world will turn to Ash? Man, that was crazy too. Did I ever thank you for saving me from drowning? I probably didn't. Sorry about that. I remember you were being kinda weird that whole time. You and Melody just didn't get along until after I almost drowned. I'm glad you guys became friends in the end though. What was I saying…oh yeah, the whole prophesy thing. Why does that keep happening to me?_

 _Maybe when I do fill up this whole thing, I'll actually send it to you. I bet you'd be surprised. I wish I could share all these things with you in person. It would be so cool if you could be here. It's just not the same when something reminds me of one of my journeys and no one is there to remember with me. I sorta feel bad now for Tracey and Brock, because we did that to them a lot didn't we. I miss our inside stories. I miss you. But I guess this works for now. I got my 7th badge when I beat Olympia, so I'll be able to enter the Kalos league soon. I can't wait! It would be so cool if you could come and watch it. Remember how you and Brock used to come down on the field with me as my coaches? That was so awesome. I don't think I could do that anymore. I guess I needed you guys to do it then, but if you came to this one, I'd get to show you just how far I've really come!_

 _Anyway, I should probably wrap this up. I can hear Bonnie starting to get excited about something. Maybe Clemont made something new! I'll tell you about it later._

 _-Ash_

 **A/N:** Well, that didn't go where I meant for it to. I like it though! It was really different from the angsty thing I wanted to do for today. I guess the pain and longing switch isn't automatic like it used to be (which is totally a good thing for my own sanity, but I do love my angsty Ash and Misty, so hopefully I'll be able to access the darkness again soon :P)


End file.
